2. Maleficent

Maleficent
Directed by Robert Stromberg
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2014

Genre
Fantasy, Fairy Tale Retelling

Honors
None known

Review
This movie is a retelling of Disney's Sleeping Beauty from the prospective of Maleficent, the protagonist in the original film.  The story follows Maleficent as a young girl enjoying her wings, the freedom of her land (the Moors), and befriending a young human boy named Stephan.  Humans were not allowed in the Moors due to a history of war between the two lands, until Stefan begins spending time with Maleficent.  The two grow up and Maleficent falls in love with him, but Stefan sees a chance to become king in his own realm if he can prove Maleficent is dead.  He drugs her one night, but can’t bring himself to kill her, so he cuts off her wings for his prize.  He goes on to become king, marrying the princess and having a daughter named Aurora.  Maleficent shows up at the celebration of Aurora's birth and curses her to fall into a coma at 16 after pricking her finger on a spinning needle.  But as Maleficent watches the child, she unintentionally grows fond of her and tries to remove the curse, but fails.  This movie has beautiful scenery, but is very dark at times.  It has a general theme of overcoming that can speak to many audiences, though younger children may be frightened at times.  This is a must-see for any fairy tale lovers.

Opinion
Many reviewers, and even Angelina Jolie, consider the scene where Maleficent's wings are stolen by Stefan to be a rape metaphor.  While nothing graphic is shown, this is a very dark scene and can cause a deep emotional reaction.  I feel that most tweens will focus more on the literal occurrences in the movie, but this interpretation is certainly something to be aware of.  Angelina Jolie played her part very well, though most of her character was portrayed through actions and CGI; she spoke much less than I thought she would.  Her facial expressions and behaviors did a good job of portraying her character's feelings without introducing the presence of a narrator reminiscing.  I felt that the characters aside from Maleficent were very non-dimensional and unexplored, and even Maleficent was slightly shallow (though certainly more complete than the others).  The 3-D effects seemed in good taste, not overused or ineffective, and the scenery was believable and beautiful.

Ideas
This is a good family movie, but likely not something to let children watch alone.  This film may provoke discussion about some of the "big questions": why do bad things happen to good people and why do people do bad things? It's a good example of overcoming a desire for revenge and remembering who you are outside of anger.

1. Fortunately, the Milk

Fortunately, the Milk
By Neil Gaiman

Illustrated by Skottie Young

Harper Collins Children's Books, 2013
Narrated by Neil Gaiman

Genre
Sci-fi, Humor

Honors

• A Globe & Mail 100 Selection: Young Adult (2013)

Review

When a father is left to care for his two children while his wife is away for a few days, the children wake up in the morning to find they have no milk for their cereal.  The father goes to the store to get milk and is gone for a long time, but when he returns, he tells the children the amazing events that happened to him on his way home.  This is a humorous book about travels through space and time in a hot-air balloon with Professor Steg, the stegosaurus.  During his travels, the father escapes pirates, encounters a volcano god, outsmarts wumpires, and saves the planet from green globby aliens who want to redecorate it, all the while carrying a carton of milk.  The audio book, read by author Neil Gaiman, keeps the reader engrossed in the story, able to follow each character with their unique voices.  Young's illustrations are reminiscent of Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein, creatively showing this father's adventure through space-time and what the children do while waiting for him to come home.  The typeface is lively and almost artistic on its own, curving around the illustrations and the letters dancing across the pages.

Opinion
I really enjoyed listening to and looking at this book.  If possible, I feel like that is the way to go as you will get the voices from the audio and the illustrations from the book.  However, I usually prefer reading to listening if I need to choose and would therefore prefer to read this book.

Ideas
I think children in middle to late elementary school will enjoy the goofiness of this book.  If children don't like reading, this book may be good for them to start with as the humor and fast-paced plot will draw them in so they'll finish reading before they even notice.